Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Buys 1,402 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for 1.8% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. United Bank lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.7% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 31,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,073 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 692,146 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $209,167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% during the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 38,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,720,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE GD opened at $265.33 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $258.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.